The Basic Idea:
Travel back to yesteryear when Hollywood begins dabbling with the cutting-edge technology of television. A famous director and his trio of larger-than-life stars come to RCA's studio in New York at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to perform the first-ever televised transmission of their popular Western serial, not truly understanding how live broadcasting is different from film. Things go hilariously wrong as personalities clash, the director falls ill, and film effects have to be created on the fly…and all this while a saboteur is trying to shut down the fledgling television studio for good! The audience of this madcap farce gets to witness the in-person antics going on behind the scenes while also watching the broadcast the camera sees, transmitted live before your eyes in 3, 2, 1…
I am beyond excited that this proposal was accepted: once again I am humbled that Melinda and Lou Pallotta have trusted that I can deliver on the promise of this show.
And a daunting promise it is. Imagine an ensemble of theatre actors in a madcap physical comedy, actual filming the antics on stage in a live video feed broadcast on a screen for the audience, simultaneously creating a plausible made-for-television Western drama and creating special effects, scene transitions, and even stunts and fights in real time...all the while playing zany characters in the "real" world who are desperately struggling against a saboteur and their own foibles to pull off a historic broadcast.
Whew!
Hold onto your hats; it's going to be a crazy ride! Watch this space for more updates soon. And early next year, I'll be putting out some calls for actors to read the script with me to help develop this crazy idea.